Help!!!! Travel Trailer Back in

[organcory97]

I feel so dumb and miss out on a lot of campgrounds, as my anxiety hits an all new level when trying to back in to a site. Part of that anxiety occurs when people are watching me fail, lol. What gives?

[ADK_Camper]

My trailer is light enough that I don't need weight distribution but I do use a friction sway control bar. With the bar engaged the trailer is less responsive to the trucks steering making backing up more difficult. With this set-up it's best to disconnect the sway control.

[ktmrfs]

for some real at home practice a couple of things that may help you understand the physics of backing.

1) take your kids wagon, grab the handle and practice moving it backwards and turning like you would to park a trailer. you will see how the tongue is just like the wagon handle, how it needs to move to move the trailer (in this case the wagon)

And when backing into a spot we prefer one we can back in to on the DS, PS is harder to see, and definitely needs a spotter.

And DW and I have a pair of walkie talkies we use if needed. Don't rely on cell phones since many places we go have NO cell service.

And I never back if I can't see the spotter in a mirror.

2) get a toy semi truck & trailer with a real working steering wheel, and practice with it. Even w/o a steering wheel, moving it backwards to park should give you the idea of what your truck needs to do.

These may give you the "ah ha" moment, then practice with your rig in a parking lot.

Personally, backing a short trailer is harder than a long trailer. My 14ft cargo trailer responds way more quickly than my 35ft TT.

[canoe_on_top]

I think the original joke was: A tourist comes up to a New Yorker on a street corner and says, "can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?" The New Yorker says, "practice, man, practice".

[Sjm9911]

Ok , another bad story from me. Lol. First time backing into my driveway with a pop up, so single axel , i kept over correcting so.... hit the curb on the left, then the right , repeat over and over. I was so pissed i decided to pull away and come in from the other side. As i stewed driving around the block to come in from the other way, i noticed i just went around the block and came in the same way. And yes the neighbors had atually gotten out of their houses to watch at this point.

Slow corrections on the wheel are key. A little movement can swing the back a lot. More so on a single axel.

[dedmiston]

dedmiston wrote:
This pulls my trailer out into the road and ***** it towards the space with the driver's side wheels aligned right with the end of the space.

I wonder what dirty word I used? Maybe a male rooster? I can't figure it out.

[Walaby]

I've tried the swoop/scoop but have never been able to make it work.

Dedmiston, reading how you did it, I might have been doing it a little wrong. My issue has always been my TV is too close to the curb after completing the swoop.

I'll have to try it again a little slower this time around.

Mike

[Seon]

Last year I switched over from a cl c back to a TT and decided to buy a Hensley WD hitch which is a different breed to hook up. At any event the first camping trip went great until I had to back up and couple the stinger into the hitch. Took me almost an hour to get that stinger straight and while doing so I had several folks asked if I needed help. I replied "no"... I was determined to do it myself.
Fast forward to when I got home that day. I practiced hooking and unhooking for several hours. Now it's a breeze. Moral of the story, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again".

[dedmiston]

2112 wrote:
It's the Scoop Maneuver
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RLtfrBWzNCw

This guy calls it the Swoop
https://www.outdoorsy.com/blog/pro-tips-for-backing-up-a-trailer

I can't get into my driveway without doing this. My street is narrow and has deep ditches on both sides

BINGO.

I've heard it called The Swoop and The Scoop.

The details depend on the length/geometry of your trailer and truck. The technique is the same, but the distances will vary.

I have a 44' fifth wheel and a long bed dually.

When I'm pulling up to a back-in space I first cross my fingers and hope that the space is on my left, because it's so much easier to see from the driver's side. It's not much harder on the other side though.

Pull up slowly on the same side as the space. So if the space is on the left, I hug the left side of the road and watch my mirror or hang my head out the window to see when my front trailer wheels get just start to get to the far side of the space's driveway.

When I get to that point, I cut my wheels hard to the right and go almost as far as I can, and then I turn hard to the left and pull forward a little. This pulls my trailer out into the road and ***** it towards the space with the driver's side wheels aligned right with the end of the space.

As I back in, I straighten out the truck (wheels left) so the trailer stops turning, and it backs right in.

At that point, I only have to make slight corrections depending on where the pedestal and any other obstacles are located.

It's usually a one-shot deal.

[MitchF150]

MFL wrote:
MitchF150 wrote:
I too was lucky in learning how to backup stuff since I was a kid. Laugh if you want, but I started doing it at around 5 years old, on my tricycle with a hand truck strapped to the back and "going camping" in the parking lot of the apartment complex we lived in back in the late 60's..

I would load the hand truck with my 'camping' stuff. Pedal out and back it into my camping spot.. ha, ha..


Hey Mitch...if your mom took a picture of your trike & hand truck rig backing, would be nice of you to post it!

Thanks for the smile! 🙂

Jerry

I wish I did.. I know of a picture of me on that trike eating an apple! But no 'trailer' attached.. Now that I think of it, I would pull that 'rig' around quite a bit.. Just peddle and peddle towing my 'trailer'.. ha, ha..

Mitch

[ferndaleflyer]

When in doubt I get out! I routinely back a 32ft enclosed trailer into my driveway with my 36ft (formerly 40ft} DP. In the dark in the rain snow whatever. Its easy after 15 years here and doing it about every week yet last fall I backed the trailer into a tree in my driveway. Didn't follow my own advice as it was dark and raining and I could not see the trailer. You can't see it you better look for sure.

[organcory97]

RoyF wrote:
In addition to all of the above good advice, I recommend that you take some time to walk over the ground before trying to back in. Look for things that would be easy to miss in the mirrors. Take this time to relax. Visualize the path you want the trailer to take.

Early on, I scratched the right rear fender of my almost-new-at-the-time truck on a low wooden post while backing to the left. (I had not gotten out to look first.)

This summer, I noticed a metal object (exposed by recent rains) that could have caused damage to tires. The hazard would have been easily overlooked from the mirrors. This time, I managed to avoid the problem.

In addition to watching your mirrors, don't neglect to watch the front of your truck. While backing to the left, you don't want to a tree to jump up out of nowhere and scratch your right front fender.

Finally, don't hesitate to get out and recheck the ground as often as you need to.

Great tips, I have never got out of my truck lol. Lucky so far i guess, but that luck would run out.

[organcory97]

sgfrye wrote:
backing comes natural for me, i grew up on a farm and was driving and backing farm trailers when i was 6 or 7 years old so im not the best teacher (ask my wife)

BUT, even being experienced i still slow down and take my time and block out thoughts of people watching us because our rig is a 38 ft TT that needs a ton of room to swing and back, but worth the extra TT living space.

the one thing i cannot get my wife to understand. i use my truck mirrors for backing and she is my spotter but i cannot get her to understand that if she can't see my mirrors, i can't see her spotting me. good point for spotters unless you use cell phone or walkie talkies

Yeah i hear ya, We have a 35' so know the problem but love the space

[sgfrye]

backing comes natural for me, i grew up on a farm and was driving and backing farm trailers when i was 6 or 7 years old so im not the best teacher (ask my wife)

BUT, even being experienced i still slow down and take my time and block out thoughts of people watching us because our rig is a 38 ft TT that needs a ton of room to swing and back, but worth the extra TT living space.

the one thing i cannot get my wife to understand. i use my truck mirrors for backing and she is my spotter but i cannot get her to understand that if she can't see my mirrors, i can't see her spotting me. good point for spotters unless you use cell phone or walkie talkies

[RoyF]

In addition to all of the above good advice, I recommend that you take some time to walk over the ground before trying to back in. Look for things that would be easy to miss in the mirrors. Take this time to relax. Visualize the path you want the trailer to take.

Early on, I scratched the right rear fender of my almost-new-at-the-time truck on a low wooden post while backing to the left. (I had not gotten out to look first.)

This summer, I noticed a metal object (exposed by recent rains) that could have caused damage to tires. The hazard would have been easily overlooked from the mirrors. This time, I managed to avoid the problem.

In addition to watching your mirrors, don't neglect to watch the front of your truck. While backing to the left, you don't want to a tree to jump up out of nowhere and scratch your right front fender.

Finally, don't hesitate to get out and recheck the ground as often as you need to.